Olympique Lyonnais has been singled out by the National Management Control Department (DNCG). The financial policeman of French football pronounced, Tuesday, a “supervision of the wage bill and transfer allowances” towards OL, as announced by the Professional Football League. This decision taken by the DNCG limits the room for maneuver of the Rhone club on the transfer market, without however prohibiting transactions.
The club bought by the American businessman John Textor and his holding Eagle Football, in December 2022, therefore did not fully convince the DNCG which, last week, had pronounced a “stay of proceedings pending ‘additional elements’.
In a press release, OL said it had “taken note of the decision rendered by the DNCG”, while ensuring that it was considering appealing. “Olympique Lyonnais regrets that certain factual elements, including financial commitments, provided by the shareholder and its partners, were not taken into consideration by the DNCG”, he added.
The entry of Eagle Football to 77% of the capital of OL Groupe represented a historic turning point for the L1 club, chaired for 35 years by Jean-Michel Aulas. The seventh of the last championship will not play in any European Cup this season, which de facto limits his claims in terms of recruitment. However, he is offloading the high salaries of Houssem Aouar, Moussa Dembele and Jérôme Boateng, all at the end of their contract.
